


No Shepard Without Krios

by TheExecutioner0496



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: BTW, But I like Thane, Change in Major Plotline, Colony backround, Did you know "Misuse of Biotics" was already a tag?, I usually play Male Shepard, M/M, Misuse of Biotics, So that's the pairing, Warning just in case, better safe than sorry, custom Shepard - Freeform, probably add more tags later, soul survivor, the more you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 08:04:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8525236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheExecutioner0496/pseuds/TheExecutioner0496
Summary: Taking place during Mass Effect 3 Derek Shepard learns that Thane is in the final stages of Keplar Sydrome and refuses to accept the idea of having to live without Thane present in his life. While Thane has already come to terms with his own death Derek decides to take matters into his own hands, even if Thane wouldn't want him to go to the lengths the Commander ends up going to save his life.





	1. Desperate Measures

**Author's Note:**

> This fic and notes shall contain many spoilers for the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3, but let's be honest, if you haven't played the games by now I doubt you plan to in the near future. Not that I blame you for Mass Effect 3, that was disappointing to everyone. 
> 
> I was honestly surprised by how effected I was when I witnessed Thane die in Mass Effect 3. I knew it was coming, I saw it coming, but dammit, it hurt! In this fic I will show my own theory as to how Shepard could have saved Thane's life and brought the Drell Assassin back into his life, no matter the cost. I know that Thane is a romance option for female Shepard but I usually play as a male, thus meaning I'm more comfortable with that. Plus, I think Thane as a character would accept Shepard as a person, no matter his or her gender.

Derek decided to visit Kaidan at the hospital before he met with the Council because he honestly wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until he did. He spoke with the Doctor, learned Kaidan's status, and even invited Doctor Chakwas back onto the Normandy with much relief but also distant sadness. He felt like he was going to get her killed one of these days if she kept returning to the Normandy Crew but she seemed dead set on reminding him that it was her choice, and that she'd lived a very full life. All those thoughts were swiftly pushed to the back of his mind when he spotted a familiar figure practicing his punches by the large window on the far wall of the waiting room, though. Thane Krios, Shepard would recognize him anywhere, especially in that leather armor the man always wore even outside of battle. Shepard approached him damn near silently, but like he remembered, Thane heard him. It was nearly impossible to sneak up on the assassin, after all, but Thane had been the only one who would ever hear his approach on the Normandy SR2. Shepard smiled as their eyes met but he soon got a concerned frown when Thane got a rough coughing fit. He learned of what he'd missed when the Alliance had grounded him, and apparently Thane had tried several times to contact him. Derek did provide the other male with information as well, receiving condolences about the attack on Earth that Shepard had witnessed before escaping. They parted with a warm embrace but Shepard was discontent. In spite of Thane's insistence that he has come to terms with his own impending death Derek was unwilling to accept that. Thane had stood by his side when they took on the collectors, he'd been there to see Shepard at both his worst and his best, and he was the only reason that Derek hadn't snapped under the pressure of all the responsibility that humanity had thrust upon him. Not only that, but Thane was the reason Shepard got out of bed every morning, even when he was grounded on Earth. Knowing Thane was out there had given him a reason to keep going, and if he died Derek didn't know if he could do that. No, he'd find a way to cure Keplar Sydrome, or rather, he'd find someone who could do it and if it was anyone it had to be Miranda, after all, she'd brought him back from the dead. 

~~**~~**~~**~~

"I don't even want to know how many resources you drained just to try and contact me, Derek. What I do want to know, however, is why you'd go to so much trouble to do it." Miranda sighed as they spoke through the quantum entanglement system installed into the Normandy. John sighed and asked EDI to clear up the signal before answering her. They had actually become good friends on the SR2, and they each respected one another. Miranda knew he wouldn't do this if it wasn't pretty damn important. 

"I've found Thane, but he's in bad shape. He's in the final stages of Keplar Sydrome and... and I don't know what I'll do if I loose him, Miranda. You were the head of Project Lazerus, you're the most intelligent person I know in the entire Galaxy. I want to know if you believe you can find a cure before his time runs out." Shepard stated bluntly and her surprise was obvious. 

"Shepard... Derek, even if I can do what you ask the amount of credits needed is going to be insane, and I can't imagine that Thane would approve of you doing this. He didn't even approve of the idea when you offered trying to find a cure back when we were chasing the Collectors. Something about how if the Hanar scientists couldn't do it no one could." She pointed out and Derek gave a low growl of frustration. 

"That's why I haven't mentioned a word of this to Thane, Miranda. Now can you do it or not? Don't worry about credits, I'll find a way. I always do." He insisted and she was silent before sighing. 

"I can do it, yes, but when Thane finds out the blame is all on you. I don't want him finding out I had anything to do with it." She huffed and Derek merely told her to meet them in a remote system before cutting contact. He'd handle Thane's reaction when the time came, all he gave a damn about was saving the man's life. 

~~**~~**~~**~~

Derek was on edge and his temper was shorter than ever after the Normandy caught up with Miranda and he transferred an obscene amount of credits over to her. He would meet with her every week after the first meeting, transferring even more credits each time. Apparently he'd set aside some of his own personal earnings from every single mission he completed to give over to her. Risky, especially with this war, but he believed it to be worth it. Within two months she told him that she had a cure upon their last meeting. Miranda left with a statement that she would likely contact him again soon and he merely nodded, knowing he owed her so much more for this cure alone. He immediately told Joker to take the Normandy to the Citadel and no one dared to ask questions. Ever since he'd started meeting with Miranda he'd told no one of who he kept meeting with. Only EDI and Joker knew, and they stayed silent on the matter no matter how often Garrus, James, or Liara asked them. 

Upon arrival at the Citadel Derek swung by Kaidan's room like he normally did before activating his stealth field and stepping into the waiting room. He slid into the shadows at the wall opposite of the window where Thane always sat in a plush chair. Like always, the Drell was there, gazing out the window with a distant look in his eyes. Derek knew the man was carding through memories, and judging from the smile on his face it was a good one. He pulled the old fashioned dart gun from the N7 hoodie he wore and took a deep, though quiet, breath. His stealth field would drop the moment he fired the dart loaded into the gun and he had only one shot. The dart held the cure and it would inject immediately upon contact. Thane would react poorly to being shot at too, and he'd be both confused and angry when he learned Shepard had been the one to fire at him. As an Infiltrator Shepard also had no defense against Thane's biotics so this would hurt. He dropped onto one knee and took aim, silently sending an apology with his own thoughts before he pulled the trigger. His stealth field fizzled out and he saw the dart hit Thane in the side of the neck. Within seconds a shock field was thrown and Shepard braced before being thrown hard against the wall behind him. His head hit the solid surface with a harsh 'crack' and he heard Thane yell his name in both shock and anger. Derek cussed as he slid to the floor in a daze while gray and white bursts of light flashed at the edges of his vision. At least Thane hadn't held back on him, he'd have been disappointed if the man done that. Alarms sounded in response to the vilence and Thane appeared in his line of sight from what seemed like no where. The man had pulled the dart but the contents had already entered his blood stream. One of the man's hands ran through Shepard's now shaggy black hair while the other still glowed with a biotic corona, likely due to the adrenaline rush that was currently flooding through him. 

"Shepard, can you hear me? Siha, I need to hear your voice." Thane insisted and his voice was stressed but desperate. Shepard felt a sharp pain in his chest from having hurt Thane but he wouldn't apologize for it either. 

"I think I'm gonna pass out. Looks like time sure hasn't dulled your skills at least. Would've been... been disappointed otherwise." Shepard joked weakly and Thane's expression seemed to be stuck between a scowl and a smirk. Nurses and doctors were rushing forward and he saw Thane's hand come out from where it had been in his hair and the man made a distressed noise at the crimson blood coloring his scaled skin and Shepard tried to reassure him. "Don't look like that... I'll heal. Always do. After I can... explain... but you should get scanned too." Shepard's vision was starting to fade but he didn't miss the words uttered to him before the nurses put him on a cot to drag him deeper into the hospital and his consciousness succumbed to the blissful darkness. 

"I assure you that I will not leave your side, but once you wake you have much explaining." Thane vowed unhappily.


	2. Arguments and Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thane learns of how far Derek Shepard went to locate a cure for Keplar Sydrome and join's Derek's crew only after Shepard agrees to a few things in return for his forgiveness.

Derek's consciousness began to fade in and out over the next few days. The first time he heard Udina's voice, the politician arguing heatedly with... was that Thane? Arguing with him about how and why Shepard was suffering a severe concussion and several shattered bones from having been slammed into the wall so damn hard. Thane seemed to stay remarkably calm before finally loosing his temper and saying that due to Shepard's spectre status the incident would be handled quietly and behind closed doors and until Shepard himself woke up Udina could shove it where the sun doesn't shine. Well, Thane said it more eloquently but that was the gist of it, so maybe Derek was a bad influence on him. 

The second time lasted longer. There were people in the room, and it took him too long to determine there were for, including Thane. Apparently the Drell had been dead serious when he said he wouldn't leave Shepard's side. Four hands on him, one taloned with only three fingers on each hand, indicating a Turian, the other five fingers on each. Could be asari, could be human, but without the strength to open his eyes Shepard wasn't sure. He could hear the constant noise of a heart monitor but he was more focused on what sounded like... Garrus talking to Thane. He wasn't sure who was with Garrus but he didn't really care much at the moment when he finally caught their conversation mid way. 

"So you're saying that when you got scanned like Derek asked there was no trace of Keplar Sydrome in you? None at all?" Garrus asked in genuine shock and Thane shifted from where he was probably sitting in a chair before answering. 

"Exactly, they claimed that if they didn't have records already in their computers they wouldn't even believe I'd had it in the first place. Like magic, they said." Thane answered bluntly and he sounded... confused? But also miffed. Not quite angry, but also not happy. "Do you think Derek was responsible?" 

"Well, I looked into that thing you handed over to me, the one you claim Derek shot at you. Apparently it's a dart that was used in the twenty first century by humans. Some held poison but they could also be used for healing. Like medicine, but only for targets that could react with hostility when a human approached. He probably assumed that whatever was in the dart you wouldn't take if he approached you with it so he forced it on you." Garrus explained and Derek's breathing finally changed from the slow and even pace he'd held to make others assume he was sleeping. The hands that had been poking and prodding him stilled in surprise but his friends and lover hadn't noticed just yet. 

"It had to have been a cure, there's no other explanation. However, I can't even begin to speculate how on earth Shepard had gotten a hold of one, but he had been meeting with someone he refused to name before all of this happened." Liara's voice chimed in, explaining who was with Garrus. Thane started to say something before the heart monitor hooked up to Shepard suddenly spiked, making it very obvious that he wasn't sleeping now. Thane stood and immediately came over, pushing a nurse out of his way just as Shepard's eyes opened. Pain lanced through his body and exploded behind his eyes, but he couldn't find it in himself to care when he met Thane's own dark eyes. He gave a shaky sigh when he saw the disapproving look. 

"You were pretending, meaning you heard what they said. Is it true, Siha? Did you do as Liara theorized?" Thane demanded in that stern tone that always cracked Derek's normally iron will. When Derek hesitated one of Thane's hands moved so that his fused fingers pressed sharply beneath his jaw, at his exposed throat, and Derek's heart rate increased to dangerous levels given his injured state, but it did what he meant it to. 

"Yes... I found someone who could make a cure before you... before we ran out of time." Derek answered and his voice was raw and broken from lack of use. Voices, panicked and urgent, were trying to convince Thane to back off while also calling for 'more sedatives'. It seemed eerily similar to when he'd first woken in that Cerberus lab to find Miranda and Wilson hovering over him. Suddenly the pain began to fade and the heart monitor showed his heart rate to be slowing down to safe levels. A blurred form came up behind Thane and was about to put a hand on his shoulder before the assassin's biotics came to life and the stranger made the wise choice to take a step back. 

"You should not have done that, Siha. You have far more important things to worry for, a war to fight." Thane insisted and he sounded almost sad, causing Derek to cling to consciousness so he could try and speak just a bit longer. 

"You're wrong, Thane. When I saw you... when we spoke the day Kaidan was checked into the hospital I was terrified. I t-tried to come to terms with it like you did but I... I couldn't. Knowing you were out there helped me get out of bed while I was grounded... knowing you were alive gave me a reason to believe I can do the impossible... even imagining that someday you wouldn't honestly be there hurt worse than when I was spaced, than when the vacuum of space tore the oxygen from my lungs." Shepard stuttered and the sedatives started to pull him under again. He saw Thane's mouth move and he knew the man was saying something to him, but he heard nothing as his eyes fluttered closed and he was pulled into that painless void once more. 

~~**~~**~~**~~

Derek's nightmare returned, but it was the one before the burning trees and whispers of those he'd lost. This one was of his own death, not the death of the child or of Ashley. The Collector ship fired their final attack at the Normandy SR1. Joker yelled his name desperately as Derek got knocked back away from the escape pod's door. Fear turned his blood to ice, and he knew that he could get Joker to safety before he died. Memories of the horror stories from boot camp passed through his head, stories of what would happen to marines that got spaced, but he was about to find out if those stories were accurate. Another explosion and Derek barely had the time to hit the panel and launch the pod towards safety before he was slammed into the remains of the Normandy's hull, and he heard something snap in his suit. Explosions flashed around him, silent in the empty void of space, and they propelled him towards the planet they'd been scanning just moments before. He watched the remains of the Normandy blast apart under the onslaught before suddenly he couldn't breathe and everything was getting cold with no warning. Alarms blared in his suit's helmet and he recognized them from his N7 training. His oxygen hose had disconnected, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. His hands reached back to try in vein to reconnect them while the air was torn roughly from his lungs and ice began to form over the burns from the fires he'd been caught in prior to this new horror show he was forced into. Less than two minutes and he passed out from suffocation before his breathing halted entirely. The last thing he heard was a familiar voice calling his name. 

~~**~~**~~**~~

"Siha, wake up! Derek!" Thane called desperately when he'd seen Derek thrashing in his sleep before the man had suddenly gone still with no warning. It didn't take long after for the man's breathing to stop as well, getting Thane to stand and go to his side in a panic. The heart monitor Derek was hooked up to was going crazy, showing that Derek was going into cardiac arrest and causing alarms to blare in his room to get hospital staff in there as soon as possible, but Thane had a feeling they wouldn't get there in time the moment Derek's monitor suddenly flat-lined. He remembered nights like this in the Normandy as they fought against time to find and destroy the collectors. Derek had even told him about his nightmare once, in detail, and Thane's picture perfect memory would never allow him to forget the haunted look in his mate's eyes or the chilling fear that Derek would always have when it came to the vast empty void of space outside the Normandy's hull. Thane reacted without thought, acting as if Derek was another biotic instead of a human infiltrator in his own panic. A glowing blue corona covered him before it spread to surround Derek's own body as well, and doctors flooded into the room just as Thane built up enough energy to try and restart Derek's heart. Someone yelled for him to stop but it was a bit too late, he was beyond words, beyond focusing on anyone but Derek. A focused shock wave struck Derek's heart but the man's eyes flew open and a sharp gasp escaped him. His hands immediately went to the back of his neck, scrambling to find the oxygen tubes and breather helmet that weren't there. His eyes were dilated and his heart monitor came back to life along with the man hooked up to it. The hospital staff were wise enough not to try moving Thane as they started to scan Derek to search for the reason he'd flat-lined at all. Thane stood near Shepard's head and gently caught the man's wrists, waiting until Derek's eyes zeroed in on him. Derek's breathing slowly began to even out and neither the drell or human uttered a word. The doctors couldn't deduce why Derek had suddenly gone into cardiac arrest but when they tried to ask Thane the assassin simply said it had been a nightmare without any further explanation. They soon gave up before giving Derek a smaller dose of sedatives, causing Derek to fall into a light sleep within a few minutes. Thane ended up moving his chair so it sad right beside Derek's bedside so that he could react far faster should Derek relive his own death once again. 

~~**~~**~~**~~

When Shepard woke this time the pain in his body and head were less and the only sound in the room other than his own heart beat and heart monitor was the deep, even breathing of Thane on his right side. Derek made a soft noise of discomfort before he opened his eyes and he got startled when he found Thane already standing and hovering over him in concern. He could barely remember anything that had occurred after he'd managed to shoot the dart at Thane, getting the cure injected before Thane reacted as expected and he got injured in the process. 

"My skull feels like it wants to disintegrate inside my own skin." Derek whined childishly and Thane sighed and looked visibly relieved. 

"If you're capable of pouting, Siha, then you are clearly healing the damage caused after you shot me with that rather rudimentary weapon." Thane stated before he frowned at Derek. "And speaking of that, you have much to explain. Do you remember when you first woke after you were injured? What you admitted to doing?" He asked in that stern tone of his that got Derek to squirm before he attempted to sit up. Thane helped him without being asked and Derek ended up propped against the wall that the bed was pushed up against before he finally answered. 

"Only bits and peices. You were talking to Garrus and I remember your fingers pressed at that spot beneath my chin and against my neck." Derek blushed darkly and cleared his throat before he continued. "You were miffed, and I told you-" Derek cut himself off when he recalled what he'd admitted to so Thane finished for him. 

"You told me that you had someone formulate a cure for Keplar Syndrome." Thane finished in a cold monotone and Derek knew right away that he was mad. Derek winced before taking a deep breath and trying to explain himself only for Thane to speak up before he could. "However... you also told me why you did it. How you could not imagine yourself being willing to continue living if I was not there somewhere. In a way, I understand why you did it, even if I do not fully approve. After this... discovery you were sedated once more, though I was forced to face the idea of loosing you a few days after this. You went into cardiac arrest when you had a nightmare in your sleep. I am ashamed to admit that I panicked and in that panic I made a rash decision." He admitted before looking away. Derek's expression went to surprise at the idea of Thane making a 'rash decision'. The man was one of the most level headed and controlled people he knew. Thane had more patience and self control than a damn saint, so the idea of him making a rash decision was more alien than a krogan and a human shaking up. 

"You're kidding me. I can't even begin to imagine you being rash and reckless, Thane." Shepard finally stated, prompting Thane to continue even if the assassin seemed to refuse to meet Derek's bright green eyes as he spoke. 

"Well, there is apparently a first for everything, Siha." Thane stated, using the human slang that he'd picked up from Derek on their mission to destroy the Collectors. "In my panic I tried to treat you as I would've another biotic, and we are both very lucky that you did not react poorly to this treatment. I used my biotics to try and restart your heart with a highly focused shock-wave aimed directly at that organ. If your body had not taken this well, we both would have died." He explained in short and clipped sentences. Derek's eyes softened at this information before the hand attached to his IV drip reached up and cupped Thane's cheek, getting the man to meet his eyes once more. 

"Well, even if my body hadn't taken it we would've met up across the ocean." Derek murmured and Thane sighed before offering a smile. Derek's reference to his own beliefs was reassuring, even if he was aware that Derek personally did not believe in them, but respected them none the less. Thane then got serious once more, even as he took Derek's hand in his own and ran his thumbs across Derek's knuckles. 

"You once asked if I would join you in your final confrontation with the Reapers, Siha. Since you have gone through so much effort to cure me of my illness I have reconsidered your offer, but I am still upset with you as well. If I join you I request that you send the formula of the cure to my home planet so that others may be cured as well." Thane offered and Derek's entire expression brightened like a sun finally rising over the horizon. Blinding but brilliant at the same time. 

"That's something I'll happily agree to if it means having you at my side again, Thane." Derek breathed and Thane decided that no matter what he had to put up with, or the stress Derek put him through, it was always worth it if he got to see that smile.


End file.
